The issue of groups congregating outside stores without appropriate distancing is one that’s been seen around the country, prompting Ms Ardern to remind Kiwis why the Level 3 rules need to be followed.

“The rules are ultimately in place for a reason and that reason is to keep us safe but to also move us as quickly as we can into other alert levels,” she says.

Businesses have been warned that non-compliance with those rules could mean closure, while the Restaurant Association has asked customers to exercise caution as outlets adjust to the new way of trading at Level 3.

A top official from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also warned against complacency after saying New Zealand’s been world-leading in its response to Covid-19.

Western Pacific incident manager Abdi Mahamud says, “We have to be very cautious moving forward, so we don’t fall into a sense of ‘we did it.’”

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Close call for returning Kiwis

The Government has revealed it rejected a Ministry of Health recommendation to shut down the border completely, even to returning Kiwis, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters says the recommendation was “understandable and appropriate advice” from a health perspective, but it’s “inconceivable that we will ever turn our backs on our own”.

The Prime Minister also says leaving Kiwis stuck overseas was never an option.

However, one expert says that by not closing borders completely, New Zealand “squandered our major advantage” in the fight against Covid-19 – the country’s isolated geography.

One of the country’s worst-hit regions for Covid-19 is also confident it’s turned a corner. The Southern District Health Board currently has 14 active cases compared with more than 100 a couple of weeks ago.

They say the Bluff wedding cluster – the country’s largest with 98 cases – is also under control.

Students stay away from schools

While 40,000 students were expected to attend schools around the country yesterday, only 12,000 turned up, representing just 1 per cent of the roll.

Around 8000 children attended early childcare centres. Those centres deemed the first day a successful start, with the small number of children attending making it easier to get through the extra duties required of them.

However the continued absence of many students from schools is causing concern for vulnerable children.

There’s been a dramatic drop in the number of children reported to Oranga Tamariki during lockdown. It’s hoped the return to school for some kids will help make cases of abuse or neglect more obvious.

Children's Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft says there’s a current lack of independent eyes on children and he suspects the rate of abuse and neglect is much higher than what’s currently being reported.

Iwi checkpoints continue

With iwi-led safe zones from Ōpōtiki to the East Cape credited with keeping Covid-19 out of their communities, organisers say checkpoints will likely continue until the end of Alert Level 3.